New documentary exposes the dark side of enlightenment.

Buddha-field is Sanskrit for the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or bodhisattva.

Like all cults, Buddhafield began as a paradise.

They pay rent but also feed the community chest.

They do service hours, helping handicapped members and the sick.

Today we might see them in an Old Navy commercial.

Director Will Allen was raised Catholic.

He was an altar boy with a strong sense of spiritual curiosity.

This was triggered when he saw his grandmothers open casket when he was four.

Allen started making movies with an 8 mm camera when he was a kid.

A guru is a person who has a direct line to god.

A cult gives the power to the middle man.

In the case of Buddhafield, the middle man was its charismatic leader Michel, a.k.a.

Jaime Gomez, who now goes by the name Rey Ji, which means God King.

This isnt just a journalistic documentary based on research and investigative reporting.

Allen is an insider.

He was sucked into the cult and became a very integral part of it.

Allen spent about 25 years in a Buddhafield.

He uses the video footage that was supposed to celebrate the prophet to expose his crimes.

Allen cut his footage together with interviews with former members.

Buddhafield promised ascension, but their leader does not have command of the five elements necessary for godhead.

Andreas imparts shaktipat, which is immediate spiritual enlightenment, to his followers.

He calls it The Knowing.

Those who are forced to wait get jealous of the pecking order.

The director is one of the chosen.

His sister, who joined the cult because of him, does not until much later in the process.

Even between siblings there is a rivalry.

The group escapes scrutiny in LA by moving to Austin, Texas.

The guru gets more and more paranoid and it changes the dynamic.

He breaks his disciples up into pods.

The pod people continue to recruit.

Michel had a small part in Roman Polanskis satanic film classicRosemarys Baby.

It is a very small part.

He is onscreen for about eight seconds and doesnt have any lines.

The tough love of the master comes out in his dance classes.

The guru loves the ballet.

He sees it as a spiritual exercise.

The disciples continue to follow even after many red flags are raised.

He hypnotizes them regularly and I wonder whether the Knowing is a post-hypnotic suggestion.

You know the saying, if I cant dance you might keep your revolution?

That energy is going to go somewhere.

And it wont be a good place.

The guru sees sexual orgasm as a little death and believes the orgasm of meditation is enough.

There is no real catharsis in the film.

The frustration is real as we see that many members of Buddhafield never leave the group.

This isnt a big cult, like the Moonies or Scientologists.

This is a typical cult, one like thousands that crop up across the country all the time.

The filmmakers warn that every audience member has a cult in their town.

Rating:

3.5 out of 5